


Every time I hope it's Sugar, but for the length of existence it's always been Salt

by RaysReads



Series: Broken Puzzle Pieces [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Abuse, Blood, Disabled Draco Malfoy, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Everyone Has Issues, Good Marietta Edgecomb, Group Therapy, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Manipulation, Multi, None of this is super graphic, Piercings, Poor Percy, Punk Percy Weasley, Rape, Room of Requirement, Tattoos, Triggers, Vampire Percy Weasley, Violence, but like supernatural style vampire, cause i wont do that to my baby, everything is just mentioned, hes not as bloodthirsty though, i regret everything and nothing, im so sorry, maybe lightly describe with a few sentences, my boy draco is really suffering, with the retractable teeth that go all around the mouth like needles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:43:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23825521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaysReads/pseuds/RaysReads
Summary: Every year Hogwarts uses her magic to send out letters to the broken, the bruised, the fractured, the scratched, the hurt.She gathers her damaged children in her arms, sends them letters shortly past midnight on their first day, and has them gather in the depths of her bosom.The Room of Requirement.Harry receives one such letter and joins this group of defeated souls. There he meets a Dead-eyed Malfoy, Splintered Parkinson, Selectively mute Edgecomb, Demolished Pucey, Wrecked Carrow twins, a Diggory in Denial, and a Weasley that is barely holding onto sanity with his newfound creature blood.They talk in a mockery of Group Therapy, gossip, play games, watch movies, and try to heal together.Who knows? Maybe they'll slaughter a Riddle along the way?Follow my fanfiction tumblr to bug me for updates and see what im working on!https://writing-by-candlelight.tumblr.com/
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Flora Carrow/OMC, Luna Lovegood/Ginny Weasley, Marcus Flint/Percy Weasley/Oliver Wood
Series: Broken Puzzle Pieces [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2018884
Comments: 29
Kudos: 168





	Every time I hope it's Sugar, but for the length of existence it's always been Salt

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [when we are loved we are afraid (we were never meant to survive)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23022976) by [aletterinthenameofsanity](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aletterinthenameofsanity/pseuds/aletterinthenameofsanity). 



> TRIGGER WARNINGS for Rape, Torture, Locking people up, self-harm, manipulation, physical abuse, body mutilation, verbal abuse, alcohol/substance abuse, ableism/homophobia, suicidal thoughts, pedophilia and basically every other negative thing ever.
> 
> I promise this isn't only depression espresso though (I hope)

# Every time I hope it's Sugar, but for the length of existence it's always been Salt

## First Year

Harry received a letter just past midnight.

It was a light blue piece of parchment, rolled up as a scroll, with a creme bow. It smelled of lilacs and had perfect black calligraphy.   
He cautiously unrolled and gulped when he scanned the perfectly curled words. _What? How had they found out? Who sent this?_ But the next day he still found himself following the creme underlined instructions at the bottom of the page.

**Tomorrow night, 9 pm, seventh floor across from the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy teaching trolls ballet.**

The next night, after a long first day of classes, Harry slowly made his way up to the seventh floor. After a slight bit of wandering and several bouts of doubling back, he finally found the tapestry. Frowning at it in slight amusement, he startled when a door suddenly appeared in his peripheral vision. He entered the room with caution and was surprised to find that it looked like the inside of a log cabin - slanted roof, bedroom loft, kitchen and all. It was rather small and cozy, with big cushions and poufs in place of 'real' furniture. They were arranged in a semicircle in front of the roaring brickwork fireplace, which had a large cauldron hanging over it filled with bubbling stew. A few students were seated, he didn't recognize most of them; the only ones he could identify were Percy (Ron's older brother), Draco (the rude blonde kid from Diagon Alley), and Pansy (a pug-ish girl with a black a-line bob who was sorted before him).

He knew why he was there, the letter hadn't been wrong. He blushed crimson under the scrutiny of the other students as he closed the door and sat in a blue bean bag. If there was one thing the Dursleys had taught him it was that attention wasn't good, and right now most of the room was staring at him in surprise.

"Right then," an older boy with short brown hair started to speak the moment the clock on the mantelpiece chime 9 o'clock. " As the oldest member I'll begin." He glanced around the room before handing out hot bowls of chunky beef stew, which Percy began to top with a generous amount of Sour Cream. Harry would have loved to have Sour Creme on his, but his stomach was still too small from over a decade of nothing but stale bread, water, scraps of dried or burnt meat, or cold, tinned veggies. He hadn't even had beans before yesterday. He couldn't handle dairy yet and he knew it. So he simply settled for some broth.

"You all know why you're here but i'll repeat it for our new members." He made eye contact with every first year and a teenager with black hair that reflected gold in the light. "Every year Hogwarts herself seeks out every student who shows signs of abuse. She scans our bodies and minds while we walk through the entrance way. When she detects such a thing she sends out letters. These letters tell us where to meet and when, because she wants us safe. You have received one such letter and joined us, as such you have probably been abused, even if you don't see it that way or haven't even noticed. There is a records log of every student to join this assembly - which we simply call 'Group' - and why they were here. Some cases that stick out are; Wesselia Johansen in 1849 who honestly had no idea why she was here but then realized that her uncle had been using a mixture of Legilimency and Obliviates to rape her. Or Kyle Lyvner in 1923 who was used as a test subject for dangerous rituals. Abuse comes in many forms. Physical, Emotional, Sexual, Mental, Magical, and anything else; which could be a variation, combination or something else altogether."

He became stern, which was at complete odds with his bubbly and chipper personality, as he explained the confidentiality rules. he pointed out that in pureblood society children are property and saying anything could get the student killed. He then moved on to explain what the Room of Requirement actually was and what it did and how the house elves supplied them with food.

"This is a safe space to talk about your Trauma, vent, and support each other. Our lifestyles can be detrimental, hurtful, painful and fatal. This is a room to talk without judgement, provide tips and support. The motto that 'it could be worse' does not work here. Sure, maybe someone else here may have it worse, maybe it could in fact _worse_ but that does not make your trauma less valid"

It was silent and Harry suddenly felt understood. He looked around at these people; The girl who had yet to look up from behind her brownish-red curls, the twins in the corner holding hands so tight that it seemed all blood circulation was gone, the boy whose hair reflected gold who seemed like he was going to bolt any second, Pansy who seemed to wince with every intake of breath, Draco whose eyes seemed so dead it was if he had no soul, and Percy who kept clenching and unclenching his fist in a way that seemed if he stopped he would do something he'd regret. He saw their faces, their shattered eyes, and understood them as they understood him.

_They were just kids_

"Right!" the oldest boy started once again chipper, looking as if he wanted to clap but thought better of it. "Introductions, I'll start! My name is Adrian Pucey, I'm a Slytherin 6th year. I play chaser on my house team and have zero fouls on my record. I'm an avid Flutist. I hate corn with my very being. My triggers are small spaces, strawberry scented anything and the dark. I'm here because my _Mother_ quite enjoys locking me in a shallow crawlspace beneath the floorboards." 

Harry winced in sympathy. That reminded him all too well of his cupboard.

Percy realized that he was next age wise and he sighed. He was no longer in his stuffy and perfectly pressed uniform. He was now dressed in a black, loose open sided tank top that had a strip of fabric about 3 inches wide holding it together at the bottom. This was pared with leather pants that laced all the way up the side and black converse. He seemed to have tattoos curling around his upper body and spiked wristbands with a matching choker and septum ring.

"My name is Percival Ignatius Weasley. I am 15 years of age and prefect for the house of Gryffindor. I am quite fond of ballet, Metal music and blue raspberry acid pops. I detest anything alcoholic and have a fatal allergy to everything citrus. My triggers are sweat - the smell, feel, everything - , slamming or locking doors, the feel of silk, and another that i'm trying to figure out that keeps sending me into disassociation. I am here because I have been raped on more than 100 separate occasions since the age of 8 by a woman whose identity I shall not yet reveal."

The cold, factual way he had said it sounded as if he was reciting facts from a textbook and it made Harry feel sick to his stomach. He knew he had it bad, but _God_ he couldn't even image what that must be like. And then add his siblings behavior towards him on top of it all....goodness they don't even know! Harry swallowed thickly as he turned to the next in line.

The boy with the black hair that reflected caramel gold looked very nervous. "I'm Cedric...Cedric Diggory." His voice was a low mumble at best. Not at all what he was like when Harry had glimpsed him at Dinner, yelling and joking with his friends. "14. Hufflepuff. This is my - Uh - my first time here, even though I'm not a first year." He looked like he wanted to sink into the floor, though that was quite understandable. This being his first time here meant that the abuse was a recent development and he seemed to have not accepted what was happening yet. "I'm a seeker for my team and an adrenaline junkie. Love heights. Fish is disgusting though. Uh.....what are triggers?" he flushed feeling stupid.

"Oh right. Maybe I should've explained." Adrian pipped up, "A trigger is something that can set of a memory or flashback, in our case of a traumatic event, that can cause us to just remember, hyperventilate, experience a panic attack, disassociate, or respond in an emotional way. They can be anything from a certain smell (like my mothers strawberry shampoo), to a sound (like Percy with locking doors), a way someone or something touches you, a taste, a look or object...they can be anything really."

"Ah. Alcohol then. The smell...the taste...the sound of the bottle opening and glasses clinking...the pour of it..." he trailed off and seemed to be lost in his mind before he shook himself out of it. "I'm not ready to share why i'm here yet. I need to think on it."

Everyone seemed curious but didn't push the subject. The twins were next and it seemed like the more intimidating of the two would do the speaking.

"The name's Hestia Carrow. That's Flora." Flora waved with a smile while Hestia scowled, "We're both in our 3rd year. Slytherin. Flora enjoys collecting things and pressing flowers or weaving flower crowns. I enjoy martial arts and playing beater in Quidditch. Triggers are yelling, red spells, the smell of metal, and smoke." She glared while she spoke while her sister had a small smile on her face. "We're here because our _Parents_ love to use the Cruciatus curse and other torture spells on us. Lovely isn't it?"

Many around the room winced in sympathy, though Harry had no idea what the 'Cruciatus curse' was, he could grasp the idea of torture easily enough. He felt for the girls, even though Hestia glared at everyone daring to feel pity for her.

The girl with the russet curls seemed to realize that it was her turn, she carefully looked upwards and scanned the room without making eye contact and pulled a notebook from the waistband of her pajama pants at the small of her back. She then uncapped a glittery purple paint marker with loud _click_ and started writing. The paper of her notebook was thick and meant for heavy duty paint and her neat handwriting filled the room with the familiar sound of scribbling. She soon recapped the marker and flipped her notebook towards the room. The glitter particles sparkled in the light as everyone began to read the following bulletpoints:

**I'm Marietta Edgecomb.  
I'm in second year.   
I'm almost 13.   
I like to fold origami.   
I don't like Dogs or eye contact.  
My triggers are shouting, being touched, things breaking.  
My mom hates me.  
I have selective mutism.**

Harry didn't know what 'selective mutism' was but decided to look it up in the library later. He thought it might be good to have friends here. He also wondered why her mom hated her but didn't push her. She obviously didn't want to share.

They had reached the first years now and some of the newest members. Pansy, as the oldest, was next. Then it was his turn, Draco was last. He gulped, he was feeling quite queasy now. Not that he thought they would judge him or something, but because he had never talked about it out loud before.  
Pansy ran her fingers through her hair and straightened her spine, she could do this.

"My names Pansy Parkinson. First year Slytherin as of yesterday. I enjoy embroidery and fashion. I dislike seafood. My triggers are fire, chemical tastes/smells, and the smell of smoke. I am here because my pyromaniac of a brother delights in setting me on fire. I might as well just show you." She drew her wand and drew a complicated pattern in the air. Her skin shimmered and it was if a layer of paint had been stripped away. The right half of her face and her entire right side was a mishmash of burns, a mixture of chemical and fire alike.

Harry tried his best to not gape in horror. He couldn't even imagine the pain that must have caused, but that all flew out of his mind as Pansy reapplied the glamour charm and he realized that it was his turn.

"um...I guess you probably know who I am, but...I'm Harry. Harry Potter. I'm in my first year and in Gryffindor. I like running but I hate cold water." He started to pull his sleeves over his hands to form sweater mittens, "My triggers are snow and big open spaces. My relatives treat me like a slave and made me sleep in the cupboard under the stairs for the first ten years of my life. I -" he swallowed, "I was also hit, kicked, and whipped." His voice had fallen into a whisper at the end. When he looked to the other people in the circle he was relieved to find no pity, but he could see that some were sympathetic and understood.

Draco was last and very obviously scared, as if the very mention of what he had been through would summon his abuser and get him hurt. He spoke in a near silent mumble, head down, and refused to look at anyone. "I'm Draconius Abraxas Malfoy. Eleven years old and in my first year of Slytherin house. I enjoy sewing my own clothes and painting/sculpting, I dislike being told what to do and stairs. My triggers are canes and being glared at. My father likes to hit me with his fanged snake cane when I'm anything less than perfect. Once I snuck out to play at a local muggle park and he severed my spinal cord with a spell that made me paraplegic."

Harry frowned. He had seen Draco walk just fine earlier. But then Draco Pulled down his silk pajama pants and pulled his shirt up to his chest to reveal a pair of long underwear, over which was a metal contraption made of many bars, straps and joints. A thick band of metal surrounded his middle and many bars encircled his thighs and calves which were strapped to his legs with wide bands of leather with buckles. Two round pieces of metal that looked like steel ball bearings, dug into either side of his kneecaps. The metal surrounding his midsection (and presumably the rest of it too) dug into his skin, which was red, inflamed, bleeding, and on some parts some scabs were oozing a yellowish pus. Draco winced every time he moved his legs.

Percy shot up in alarm and walked up to Draco before kneeling in front of him. "What _is_ that Draco?" As Draco drew his legs to his chest, Harry saw that his ankles were inflamed just like his stomach and the metal balls were slightly _under_ his kneecaps as well.   
"Um. Well. Its a device that when tightly strapped to my body lets me walk and move normally by drawing off my magic. See the runes carved into it?" He pointed to little symbols around the metal bits.   
Percy frowned in worry. "When was the last time you took this off? The abrasions are starting to get infected. An this probably needs to be cleaned as well."   
Draco stared at the ceiling in thought. "I'm only allowed to take it off for an hour every two months, because 'Malfoys don't have weaknesses' and 'A disabled Malfoy is a disgrace' like it was my fault and he didn't do it to me himself."   
"Well then." Percy said with anger simmering under the surface. "Lets get that off you. As someone who plans on becoming a healer and has studied extensively under Madam Pomfrey, I can tell you that if you don't take this off soon all the abrasions will be even more infected and you might poison your blood with the metal."   
Draco looked stricken. "Alright."

The Room of Requirement understood their needs and a part of the room sectioned itself off and a bag of medical supplies appeared next to it, placed gently on a wheelchair. Draco stood, whimpering in pain the entire way, as he and Percy made their way to the sectioned off part of the room. Once behind the wall, Percy slowly stripped Draco of his shirt, which clung to his skin with blood and scabs in some places and took his pants off the rest of the way.   
"This is going to hurt, would you like someone here?"  
"Pansy? Could you come here please?" Draco called out. Once Pansy turned the corner, Draco grabbed he hands tightly as Percy began to unstrap the metal around his midsection.

Harry winced when Draco let out a strangled scream as the metal ripped at scabs and already irritated flesh. Adrian closed his eyes in sympathetic pain as a sob wrenched from the small boy who was obviously trying to hold it all in.

Percy began to make swift work of the buckled straps going the length of Draco's legs and carefully pried the silver bars from blood soaked long underwear. Draco just kept screaming and screaming as he clutched Pansy. The others in the room were horrified. Marietta had her hands clenched over her mouth horror. Flora looked physically sick as Cedric was held by Adrian. Harry had silent tears running down his face and Hestia was murderous.

Draco collapsed as the device broke skin contact, the magic holding him standing turning off. He cried into Pansy's shoulder as she held him up and Percy cleaned the ripped skin that covered his legs. There was a 7 inch wide band of raw flesh around his stomach, a 3 inch band around each upper thigh and 4 inches around each ankle. There were abrasions that were almost holes on either side of his kneecaps and 9 long stripes going up and down each leg. Percy cleaned each injury with a quick 'aguamenti' to get the pus and dried skin off, and then disinfected them with a spell which burned. Draco let out a whimper and pulled Pansy tighter.  
"Sorry." Percy muttered as he began to manually apply a healing ointment. With an uttered 'Ferula' tight bandages wrapped themselves around his body which he fastened with a sticking spell. He handed him a pain potion and a calming draught before lifting him up and placing him in the Wheelchair.

After that everyone sat down again and began a board game, eager to forget the nights events. It was quite fun actually, and after Cedric winning three rounds of scrabble, everyone made their way back to their common rooms. Draco, still in his wheelchair, had Percy cast a glamour on him that could only be removed by the caster that made everyone think he was walking normally. Draco would be stuck in the wheelchair for two weeks, until everything healed and didn't want it getting back to his father that he wasn't walking. Percy made him promise that once he started wearing his brace again, that he would take it off every night once Group started. He didn't want a repeat performance.

All in all, Harry had a good time and couldn't wait for tomorrow


End file.
